Tribal Marine Collaborative Meeting

---

Event Details

Indigenous partners: Please join the Tribal Marine Collaborative for its fourth gathering on February 24th to discuss Tribal responses to the plastic crisis. The meeting will involve guest speakers and opportunities for discussion and updates. The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. There may be an option for in-person attendance (details to come).

Reach out to Ruthie and/or Jamie for more information or to receive the registration link.

Contact: Ruthie Maloney: northcoastnativeprotectors@gmail.com/(707) 502-9155 and/or Jamie jamie@mpacollaborative.org/(831) 207-2462

Project Background

Indigenous peoples have lived in symbiosis with the ocean since time immemorial. The legacy of colonization and genocide, including ecocide and aquacide, severed many important Indigenous ties to the coast and ocean, which has directly resulted in the deteriorating health of the ocean, climate, and those who rely upon the ocean for physical, cultural, and spiritual sustenance. The voices, knowledge, and rights of Indigenous peoples have been undervalued and undermined throughout the colonial US conservation movement. Despite these ongoing challenges, the strength and resiliency of Indigenous peoples has endured.

In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness within society of the need for collaboration with Indigenous peoples and support of Indigenous leadership. This has resulted in Tribes and Indigenous peoples receiving an overwhelming number of requests for engagement or input on projects that are not Indigenous led. This has hugely stretched the capacity of Indigenous peoples and Tribes who have competing priorities, especially when these requests are uncompensated.

As a response to both formal and informal requests from Indigenous peoples and Tribes to advance local priorities for ocean stewardship and management, the North Coast Native Protectors is establishing a statewide Tribal Marine Collaborative. The Collaborative serves as a platform for Tribal representatives and Indigenous peoples from throughout the state to come together synergistically to express concerns, share challenges and successes, and develop solutions.

The Collaborative provides opportunities to share funding and resources, leverage existing relationships and partnerships, and join in project design and implementation. The Tribal Marine Collaborative serves as a liaison to and central hub for state and federal agencies, organizations, and individuals seeking to collaborate. Rather than following the dominant model, in which agencies and funders drive priorities and then ask for Indigenous engagement, Collaborative initiatives are driven by the needs of Indigenous peoples and Tribes.

Progress To-Date

The Tribal Marine Collaborative conducted a visioning meeting in October 2022, during which over 20 new members came together to create a shared vision and goals for the Collaborative. The meeting included a prayer, introductions, background on the initiative, discussion, and surveys to collectively set priorities. Two additional meetings have been held since the visioning meeting, covering topics of co-management and marine protected areas. Meetings will continue to be held on a monthly basis covering selected topics based on the priorities of members. The group is in the process of forming working groups to work on strategic planning, secure additional funding, and offer input and comments on the initiatives, documents, and strategies of partner agencies and organizations.

Initial funding has been received from the 7th Generation Fund to support outreach, administrative and project management work and provide honorariums and travel coverage to members.

The Collaborative currently has 70+ members from more than 25 distinct Tribes and over 40 distinct affiliations.